Mean, Median, Mode

In spite of all the headline grabbing stories about poverty in the UK, I'm at a loss to know what the figures actually are.
Some sources seem to suggest a mean UK salary of £26,500. Sometimes a median value of £21,300 is quoted.

However, the 'Mode' value is rarely if ever quoted and I've had no luck finding out what it is. Anyone know?

Also no joy in finding out what the mean disposable household earnings are. One figure I saw suggested a median household income after tax as £26,000.

Yes, I know that there's lies, damned lies and statistics, but depending on what headlines you read, the UK is either relatively wealthy or broke.

Re: Mean, Median, Mode

Mean, median and mode are all measures called "averages". If you have a set of values :-
1. The mean is the sum of all the numbers divided by how many numbers there are.
2. The median is the half-way value if the numbers are laid out from the smallest to the largest.
3. The mode is the number which occurs most often.
Each of these measures can be useful depending on what the figures are all about.

Re: Mean, Median, Mode

Thanks Alan - and apologies. I didn't word my post very well. I know what the terms mean OK, but when it comes to UK income, I don't know the value of the Mode.

Re: Mean, Median, Mode

Sorry GW, I assume you've tried Googling it ?

Re: Mean, Median, Mode

I understood your post, GW, but not sure that the mode is really a useful measure in this context, which is perhaps why it is not quoted.

Re: Mean, Median, Mode

Personally I think the mode is the most informative average wrt income. More people get the modal income than any other. The mean distorts the picture by being artificially high due to the (comparitively) few extremely high incomes whereas the median can be distorted downwards by many low incomes.

Re: Mean, Median, Mode

Yes, I have tried to Google it, but still had no real luck. Much of the data is out of date and very little mentions the 'Mode'. I have seen it guessed at around £15k-£16k, which seems low to me.